RODRIGO'S POV.
The background sound went silent apart from my heart banging like a high school drum inside my chest.
"You want me to kill Perlah's brother?" I asked Isko at the other end of the call.
"You heard right," he heartlessly replied.
"He is Perlah's brother, her only family left. After killing her whole family, you want to kill him too?" I asked, surprised.
"He is ruining my plans and I can't let that happen. I give you 48 hours to get this done. I won't call or ask you if you have done it or not, I will simply send a text containing your secrets to beautiful Perlah," he threatened.
"Okay, I'll do it," I replied, terror striking me hard.
I hung up the call in a hurry, dropping to my knees.
"How did I get myself into this? I'm sorry Perlah," I muttered, disappointed in myself.
*******************************
PERLAH'S POV
I looked at my long-lost brother and my son as they both bounded together with a smile on my face.
The two cheerful bouncing baby boys got used to each other.
"Nikolas?" I called.
"Yes, Perlah," he replied softly.
"Why didn't you come sooner than now? I thought I had no family left, I felt so alone," I asked out of nowhere, tears whelming up in my eyes.
"I'm sorry, I was also very desperate to meet you. I thought I shouldn't disturb your life. Not until I did research and found out what happened to Dad and Mum and what they have been going through. When I discovered you were in trouble, I couldn't stop myself," he muttered.
I was already weeping before he was done with his speech. Coming closer, he pulled me into an embrace and I wept uncontrollably.
"I don't know if I'm just paranoid, but I missed you even though I never knew you," I whispered and chuckled.
After consoling me, Nikolas dragged me to the dining table, making sure to feed me properly.
After eating, we watched movies and cartoons, played video games, tasted different kinds of wines, and laughed at each other's problems, then it was time to sleep.
Nikolas directed me to my room and then turned towards the door.
"Where are you going?" I asked, alerted.
"OH, it's nothing Perlah, go to sleep. I will be back soon. I got a call and there's someone I need to meet tonight," he answered with a smile.
"Be careful Niko, I don't want to lose you either," I blurted out.
"Of course you can't. I have been careful until now. Nothing's going to happen to me. Don't wait up, go to bed. I might take some time," he replied, placing a goodnight kiss on my forehead.
I lay on the bed, with Arcane beside me, and after summarizing the events of the day, I drifted to sleep.
***************************************
When I woke up the next morning, I checked all the corners of the house, but Nikolas was nowhere to be found.
"Did he go somewhere this early?" I thought to myself, confused.
After waiting, pacing around, and looking out the window for hours without a sign of him, I concluded something was wrong and decided to go out in search of him even though I knew it was dangerous.
I walked down the road with no direction in mind, searching every angle, tearing down every street in search of Nikolas until I saw a couple of people gathered in the distance, calling the emergency number.
I quickly rushed down to see what was going on, and Nikolas was lying there on the street, dead.
I covered my mouth with my arms to swallow my scream, withdrawing myself from the crowd.
I sneaked back into Nikolas's mansion, before tears poured down my face like a current, my sobs echoing through the empty room.
I wept uncontrollably, my body trembling with grief, crying like an injured child.
When my crying subsided, I began to worry.
"Did I make a terrible choice by not letting Rodrigo explain?" I thought to myself.
Quickly feeding my son, I kissed him goodbye, picking up my bag to leave.
"I can't risk anyone knowing you are still alive, Arcane. Your life will be in danger," I whispered, dragging my heartbroken self out of the apartment to an orphanage close by.
After the necessary procedure, he was accepted into the orphanage home.
"His name is Arcane, I will be back for him," I murmured, choking on my tears.
"Take care of my child," I calmly added.
"We will, please take good care of you," they replied.
I looked at Arcane, not willing to let go.
"I have only just met you and your uncle," I whispered, stroking his hair.
"My brother is dead, and I have to let you go too," I muttered. My eyes were two wells of sorrow, overflowing with tears that seemed to hold worlds of pain, drowning my every soul.
"I will be back, and when I do, I am never letting go. I promise," I stated, turning my back to leave.
I dragged my feet, they seemed too heavy to lift, I felt shattered inside, and for a second, I thought my heart would stop beating.
"Nikolas, you promised not to leave, you left me too."
"Nikolas come back with me, there are things I want to do with you, brother."
"Nikolas."
RODRIGO'S POV
I sat down contemplating how not to run the errand my uncle sent me.
"I can't kill Perlah's brother, he's the only family she has left," I thought to myself.
I had just a few hours left. If I didn't do something about the mission, Perlah would find out about something I didn't want her to know about.
"I can't kill him, I just have to confess and explain everything to Perlah before somebody else does," I concluded. Then a call came in.
Seeing the ID caller, my heart beat in fear.
Putting the phone on loudspeaker, I dropped it back on the table to listen.
"I am so proud of you, that was fast," Uncle Isko said at the other end of the call.
"Proud of me, for what?" I asked, devastated.
"You killed him, Perlah's brother. That was very fast. I thought you were going to hesitate since he was Perlah's brother, but you didn't," he lamented with joy.
"But I-" I paused, hearing my phone beep as he ended the call.
"No, I didn't touch him," I thought to myself, confused.
I heard someone collapse behind me, discovering someone had snooped into our conversation. I quickly rushed forward to find out who it was.
"Perlah?"